The United States is a "consumer society." What does this mean? What ramifications does this have for how we l

Question

The United States is a "consumer society." What does this mean? What ramifications does this have for how we live in our society?

Answer 1

We don't produce enough to be competitive in a world market.

Answer 2

A CONSUMER SOCIETY= MEANS WHAT YOU WANT YOU BUY. WE'RE A SOCIETY OF FREE PEOPLE, SO IF ONE WANTS TO GET AHEAD IN LIFE, ONE SELLS TO GET AHEAD. SO ONE HAS MORE. THE ONLY SOCIETY THATS NOT A CONSUMER IS COMMUNISTS. THEY WORK AND ARE HOUSED AND FED LIKE A PET DOG.BUT WE ARE FREE TO BUY WHAT WE WANT.

Answer 3

Have a look at the four part TV documentary 'The Century of the Self'

In summary: when our economic problems switched from how to produce enough good to the problem of how to get enough people to buy , then keep on buying, all the goods we produce  (and import from cheap labour countries) we invented a newset of service industries - the marketing industries.

The marketing industries especially advertising and PR have become huge conglomerates that have to create not just the need to buy but the need to need to buy.  In effect , to change our personalities.

thechange includes a focus on loving our individual selves so  much we will continually indulge ourselves.

The industry  was intiated by one of Freuds nephews Bernays, and itsworks by hiring teams of  researchers to study (through focus groups) what are our current sets of anxieties/desires.

for example 'fear of no being sufficiently masculine/motherly and desire for 'freedom from insecurites')

The symbol makers then create symbols to represent these two sets of deep seated emotions. Attach those symbols to the products, to the adverts for the products, and to  films and computer games and TV shows, even the TV news, so that we can never escape the welter of 'buy something'messages.

So we have changed as people to become much more individualistic privileging :

-the self over others,

-the newest form of new, even if our current car/computer is OK

-gaining pleasure above all from buying  - even if we never get around to using the product.

we have bought so much 'stuff' we need bigger and bigger houses and bigger cars.

above all we privilege, obsolescence - gettng rid of useful things simply because they are not new.

Wonder what the next stage of our development will be?